This invention relates to tennis rackets and more particularly to a tennis racket having an extendible measuring device within the handle of the racket which when extended may be used together with the frame of the racket to accurately position the height of a tennis net, and which may be retracted into the handle when inoperative.
The game of tennis utilizes a net which extends across the center of the tennis court and over which the ball must be hit from one end of the court to the other end. The mid-point of the net between the sides of the court is specified to be three feet above the surface of the court. The height of the net is adjustable by means of adjusting the tension on the net mounting cords at the ends of the net adjacent the sides of the court. As the tension changes due to various factors such as stretching of the net or the tensioning cords, the height of the net at the mid-point may change out of specification. In tournament play the mid-point height of the net is critical and is measured with extreme accuracy and reset so as to be within the specification set by the rules. In recreational play, however, measuring devices often may not readily be available for the players to determine if the height of the net is positioned correctly. Since playing time available on a court is usually limited, players may not seek out a measuring device and may play with the net positioned at an incorrect height.
The length of a conventional tennis racket is too short to be used as a measuring device to set the height of the net. Most rackets are 27 inches in length from the top of the head to the tail of the handle and thus are 9 inches short of the three foot net height specification. Thus, conventional tennis rackets do not provide a means for correctly positioning the mid-point of the net relative to the playing surface of the court.